Publication Cover
Labour and Industry
A journal of the social and economic relations of work
Volume 8, 1997 - Issue 2
19
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Unionism in the Hunter Valley: An Exploratory Regional Study

, &
Pages 49-65 | Published online: 20 Jun 2013
 

Abstract

The strategies adopted by the Australian union movement at the national level to combat union decline and the pressures of globalisation in the eighties and nineties have been based on Cupertino, as were the strategies adopted by unions in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. The literature reveals, however, that support for Cupertino as a union strategy is far from unanimous. Moreover, to combat falling membership levels, union movements have embraced the organising model as a preferred alternative to the servicing model but, it appears, there are potential conflicts between the organising model and a co-operative strategy.

The changing status, roles and strategies of Hunter Valley unions has been analysed with the assistance of data gathered from unions and employers in the region. It has been found that the decline of unionism has been somewhat less in the Hunter Region than it has been nationally but, not surprisingly, there are differences between the perceptions of union officials and human resource managers about the effectiveness of unions. The data from both sources gives some support to the importance of co-operative arrangements but raises questions about the strength of the unions' regional focus and the role of the Trades Hall Council or, at least, perceptions thereof. Concerning the adoption of the organising model, it seems that in some unions the absence of any sense of crisis for unionism has resulted in less commitment than that suggested as necessary by the literature.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.